Melo may be done in Houston

[alphaorange]

There you have it: he was supposed to come close to averaging a triple double as an NBA small forward. Because that's what all the best players do, right?

Give it a rest.

You give it a rest. I said he had that kind of ability. I likely watched more of his pro games than you and I saw many games he was close and it came easily. Even Clyde said he could put up numbers like James and probably should. I can't help it you guys see everything with an orange tint, but the guy was a high scoring pro who loafed on defense and was very egocentric on offense. Facts. Save your breath.

 

[OrangeDW]

What I meant by that was: Vince at 40+ is still getting minutes, mentoring the young guys, and DUNKING! Not everyone can make that transition to the "elder statesman veteran" like VC did. It looks like Melo sure can't.

Yeah, Vince still being in the league is cool.

My point was, Vince was last an all star 12 years ago. The media let him be an aging role player without constantly making every bad game a story.

 

[OrangeDW]

You give it a rest. I said he had that kind of ability. I likely watched more of his pro games than you and I saw many games he was close and it came easily. Even Clyde said he could put up numbers like James and probably should. I can't help it you guys see everything with an orange tint, but the guy was a high scoring pro who loafed on defense and was very egocentric on offense. Facts. Save your breath.

So basically, he wasn’t LeBron.

 

[HakAttack]

Yeah, Vince still being in the league is cool.

My point was, Vince was last an all star 12 years ago. The media let him be an aging role player without constantly making every bad game a story.

That's true. And he was arguably more of a ball-hog for NJ than Melo was for DEN/NYK.

 

[br801]

You give it a rest. I said he had that kind of ability. I likely watched more of his pro games than you and I saw many games he was close and it came easily. Even Clyde said he could put up numbers like James and probably should. I can't help it you guys see everything with an orange tint, but the guy was a high scoring pro who loafed on defense and was very egocentric on offense. Facts. Save your breath.

My guess is he didn't have more than 10 assists in a game more than a few dozen times in his career. He wasn't Magic Johnson and that just wasn't his game. He was a tremendously versatile scorer who took a lot of contact and got to the line, and he was a very good rebounder for his position, as OrangeDW pointed out earlier. I love Clyde, but he says things.

 

[OrangeDW]

I also think it’s fair to point out that late career mid 30’s Melo’s game would’ve aged much more gracefully in a previous version of the NBA than it appears to be doing in this era.

The NBA has changed rapidly. Half the teams in the league are setting records for the pace of play aren’t they? Melo needs to be catching the ball from 17 and getting into triple threat positon, trying to win games with scores in the 90s at this point. The NBA gave up on that type of play in the last couple years.

 

[HakAttack]

You give it a rest. I said he had that kind of ability. I likely watched more of his pro games than you and I saw many games he was close and it came easily. Even Clyde said he could put up numbers like James and probably should. I can't help it you guys see everything with an orange tint, but the guy was a high scoring pro who loafed on defense and was very egocentric on offense. Facts. Save your breath.

So Melo was basically Kobe Bryant then.

 

[HakAttack]

I also think it’s fair to point out that late career mid 30’s Melo’s game would’ve aged much more gracefully in a previous version of the NBA than it appears to be doing in this era.

The NBA has changed rapidly. Half the teams in the league are setting records for the pace of play aren’t they? Melo needs to be catching the ball from 17 and getting into triple threat positon, trying to win games with scores in the 90s at this point. The NBA gave up on that type of play in the last couple years.

GREAT point. I completely agree.

 

[two3zone]

So Melo was basically Kobe Bryant then.

Kobe wasn't awful at defense.

 

[br801]

I also think it’s fair to point out that late career mid 30’s Melo’s game would’ve aged much more gracefully in a previous version of the NBA than it appears to be doing in this era.

The NBA has changed rapidly. Half the teams in the league are setting records for the pace of play aren’t they? Melo needs to be catching the ball from 17 and getting into triple threat positon, trying to win games with scores in the 90s at this point. The NBA gave up on that type of play in the last couple years.

As good as he was for as long as he was, I always thought Melo would have really killed it playing in the 70s-era NBA/ABA before the 3-point shot existed or was more an afterthought. I think his skillset would have made him a consistent 30/10 guy.

 

[OrangeDW]

Kobe wasn't awful at defense.

Kobe was a better defender than Melo. Kobe wasn’t as good of a defender for most of his career as the accolades would suggest. He earned his rep for a couple years, and then from there he was ok on that end. He got like 9 first team all defense awards! He deserved maybe half of them.

Melo wasn’t as bad at defense as most of the criticisms suggest either.

Melo and Kobe’s offensive stats per game were/are remarkably similar.

Kobe was clearly a better player, but I don’t think the gap was as wide as it will be portrayed.

 

[HakAttack]

As good as he was for as long as he was, I always thought Melo would have really killed it playing in the 70s-era NBA/ABA before the 3-point shot existed or was more an afterthought. I think his skillset would have made him a consistent 30/10 guy.

A modern day Bernard King.

 

[cuseinseattle]

So some of the other greatest of all time? Ok, cool.

Melo was a better player than a couple of those guys, by the way(IMO, of course).

You can’t make this up. Melo sucks and then is compared to Worthy and Bird

 

[HakAttack]

Kobe was a better defender than Melo. Kobe wasn’t as good of a defender for most of his career as the accolades would suggest. He earned his rep for a couple years, and then from there he was ok on that end. He got like 9 first team all defense awards! He deserved maybe half of them.

Melo wasn’t as bad at defense as most of the criticisms suggest either.

Melo and Kobe’s offensive stats per game were/are remarkably similar.

Kobe was clearly a better player, but I don’t think the gap was as wide as it will be portrayed.

Basically rings. Rings mean everything in basketball. Do people even remember how good Charles Barkley was? Or is the first thing they remember that he couldn't bring home a title?

 

[OrangeDW]

Basically rings. Rings mean everything in basketball. Do people even remember how good Charles Barkley was? Or is the first thing they remember that he couldn't bring home a title?

Yup. I hate those discussions too. Teams and organizations win. Barkley was as good or better than a lot of stars that won it all. His best chance came vs. peak MJ. It takes some luck, sometimes.

 

[HakAttack]

Yup. I hate those discussions too. Teams and organizations win. Barkley was as good or better than a lot of stars that won it all. His best chance came vs. peak MJ. It takes some luck, sometimes.

I think if I was picking an all-NBA ringless team, Barkley would probably be first or second off the board.

 

[two3zone]

Rings really don't mean that much except when one guy can legit carry a squad which is rare.

Melo was/is a great scorer but is quite one dimensional. He was the prototypical mid to late 90s scorer but the game has evolved so much and him partially being left behind relatively early in his career.

He's a hall of fame player, zero doubt, but I'm not sure id put him up there with all time greats.

 

[br801]

A modern day Bernard King.

King was never really what I described. Melo was arguably better in most aspects of the game and proved more durable.

 

[HakAttack]

King was never really what I described. Melo was arguablt better in most aspects of the game and proved more durable.

I meant the similarity to King from the sense that both players had a killer midrange game, which was typical of stars of that era, and could fill it up and score in bunches.

Was there someone in mind you were thinking of when you posted that?

 

[SoBeCuse]

Vince averaged 10 ppg and shot 41% back in 2012. I think you’re judging them by different sets of standards.

Edit: Vince shot 33% in 16 mpg in a season that he played 66 games back in 2014-15!!?? I didn’t even realize that.

Melo shoots bad for 3 games and it’s a national story every time.

This is the third season of a rapid decline. I get that it is an impassioned issue for you but facts are facts and just watching him, one can tell his athleticism and skills have eroded to the point where he isn’t helping teams, IMO. He hasn’t shot above 36% (33% this year) from 3 the past 3 years in roles where he needs to be able to camp out and make threes because the rest of his game has declined so much. He hasn’t shot above 43% from the floor. Hasn’t averaged above 6 rpg, and assists have been under 3 a game. The analytical stuff is real bad.

 

[br801]

I meant the similarity to King from the sense that both players had a killer midrange game, which was typical of stars of that era, and could fill it up and score in bunches.

Was there someone in mind you were thinking of when you posted that?

King and Melo certainly had similar games. I just think Melo was a bit stronger and more physical.

 

[cuseinseattle]

I’m not sure if I get this whole thing. Is it Melo wants or the Rockets are cutting him? Why would you cut a guy that is a back up forward making the league minimum. He dropped north of 20 points in 1 game and has only played in 10. They haven’t even gotten into a rhythm as a team after the fight and Hardens injury. Also I’ve seen 3 of their games and CP looked bad each time.

 

[HakAttack]

I’m not sure if I get this whole thing. Is it Melo wants or the Rockets are cutting him? Why would you cut a guy that is a back up forward making the league minimum. He dropped north of 20 points in 1 game and has only played in 10. They haven’t even gotten into a rhythm as a team after the fight and Hardens injury. Also I’ve seen 3 of their games and CP looked bad each time.

I think HCMDA and Melo are probably at each other's throats. It didn't end well in NY, and HCMDA is probably resentful for getting the boot, because in the NBA, the player ALWAYS outlasts the coach.

 

[cuseinseattle]

This is the third season of a rapid decline. I get that it is an impassioned issue for you but facts are facts and just watching him, one can tell his athleticism and skills have eroded to the point where he isn’t helping teams, IMO. He hasn’t shot above 36% (33% this year) from 3 the past 3 years in roles where he needs to be able to camp out and make threes because the rest of his game has declined so much. He hasn’t shot above 43% from the floor. Hasn’t averaged above 6 rpg, and assists have been under 3 a game. The analytical stuff is real bad.

He was never a great 3 point shooter though. Those numbers haven’t declined he shot over 40% twice in his career. He was never going to age and become Ray Allen.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I mean, he’s going to be a HoFer. That’s a decent legacy.

I thiink Melo has a lot of haters out there. To me, his career is kind of like Dominique Wilkins. He might not get in for a few years. If he does get in on his first or second ballot, it's going to be because of the Olympics and the national title for Syracuse.